Choosing the time, you stream daily is a good idea. Because many Twitch users can’t watch at a specific time due to sleep, school, and work. If you choose to stream at a specific time, you can both gain and lose potential viewers that watch your channel
The website that gathers Twitch statistics like Twitch Tracker, Twitch Strike, and Twitch Tool provides data of on what day and hour when twitch users watch stream the most
When is the Best time To Stream On Twitch?
For most Twitch streamers, according to data from Twitch Tracker, the best time for the streamer to stream whether it’s weekdays or weekends are 1 P.M and 4 P.M . This is the time when many users watch the stream on Twitch after they finish their school or work.
The worst hour or the time when there is the least number of viewers are between 1 A.M and 3 A.M based on UTC/GMT -7 or Pacific Daylight Time zone.
But this data only came from the statistic. In real life scenario, you shouldn’t blindly follow this advice
In fact, the worst hour maybe is the best time you should choose to stream
Why?
If you’re just a beginner, aiming for peak hours is a bad idea
The best time for beginner streamers is not at peak hours
For beginner streamers, peak hours are actually not the best time. Why?
Because at that time, many rather want to watch popular streamers like xQc, shroud and other popular streamers than watch a new streamer that have no viewers and followers
For beginner streamer, the time when there is only few channel stream at night is the best time. It’s common knowledge that it’s rare for Top 100 Streamer on Twitch to stream during night daily
Big streamer rarely streams at night
Because streaming at night is tiring and not worth it. It’s waste of time and energy, and they will get fewer viewers during the night.
And since they can get more viewers during the day instead of night, why should they stream at night?
Sometimes, popular streamers do 24-hour streams for an event as a celebration or to get a targeted donation for their dream. But this rarely happens, and after 24 hours stream ended, they will stop streaming for few days to rest
So at most times, big streamers always stream during the day, not at night
Streaming at night is an advantage
Streaming at night, when there are fewer channels competing with your stream, can let you have a higher chance to get noticed by some viewers that watch stream only on the night
Because there still many viewers that had just finished their overtime job or night shift job, they will love to watch streamer stream their favorite game during the night
Because it’s already midnight, those potential viewers will only see less than 20 channels on the game category they choose. Even if you stream competitive games like LoL and Valorant, it still holds true
Not only that, streamers that stream during the night usually treat it as a side gig after a day-to-day job.
So, you are competing with few streamers that in the same position as you, treating streaming as a hobby after work, instead of popular streamers that treat streaming as their real job
According to Wired, there are many success stories of Twitch streamer that started their streaming journey by streaming at night after their day to day job
Because the stream at night, they get noticed by many viewers and gain partnership status after countless streaming grind at night
After getting a partnership, they can get enough money from subscription, donation, and bits, replacing Twitch streaming as their real job
And then, they can finally stream during 2 P.M when it has the highest amount of viewers on Twitch instead of 2 A.M
So the best time for beginner streamers is actually during the night when most people started to sleep. The best time to stream for beginner streamers is at around 11 P.M to 5 A.M. Of course, you need to prepare coffee to stream at this late
What if you can’t stream at night?
My recommendation to stream at night only hold true if you can stream at night. If you are busy with real life, don’t stream at night. It can make you sleepy at next day.
You can stream at any time you want, as long you don’t have high expectations for your streaming career.
Not all streamers that stream at night become popular according to The Verge. Most of them went unnoticed and finally give up their dream on Twitch
Also, many streamers get success when they stream during the day instead of at night. The game you stream, your personality, charisma, communication skill, and a bit of luck will prepare you better on Twitch than the time you stream
If you stream at night, many of your followers can’t watch your stream. This is risky because they can slowly forget you. If you have already gained success from your streaming schedule, then don’t easily change it
But is there really the most optimal time to stream on Twitch?
After researching many streamers, the best time theory doesn’t hold perfectly on real life
Because the most optimal time for each streamer is different. It can be influenced by many factors, from location, time zone, type of game, streamer charisma, real-life event and many other factors that hard to be counted numerically
Why?
Because not all streamer streams the same game at same time zone
Not all Twitch audience is American. There are many European and Asians that watch the stream on Twitch.
So even if you stream at night on America, maybe it’s already the next day in another part of the world, so it doesn’t matter that much anyway
So you don’t need to really care about which time you choose when you decided to stream if you can’t choose the time for you to stream
Consistency is more important for streamers than the time
A consistent streaming schedule is important
Why?
Because it can cultivate a habit to your viewers. Viewers habit is important if you want to gain loyal followers on your channel
If you keep stream at a consistent time, your viewer will automatically open Twitch when you start a stream, even before the notification appear
This is true based on my experience. When Disguised Toast keep upload his video on YouTube at the same time, I automatically open the YouTube app on my smartphone to watch his video
And this still holds true on Twitch. Many xQc fans keep watching his stream no matter what controversy he is in. Because his viewers have a habit to keep watch his stream
Creating a time schedule to stream at a consistent time also prevents you from getting burn out. Burn out is common for newbie streamer that doesn’t get any viewer and follower on their channel
If you stream consistently, without caring about the number of viewers, you will be happier during the stream. It also reduces the stress of expectation you have when you start to stream
Viewers can sense you if you stream in a bad mood. They can avoid your stream, because who likes watching angry people spread their anger during the stream?
Don’t stream when big streamers stream their game
If you stream a popular game with many viewers, maybe a MOBA like Lol and Dota 2 or Battle Royale game like Fornite, It’s important to check when is the time of top streamers in your game community start to stream. Knowing this information is important for most beginner streamer
Why?
Because you must not put your streaming schedule at the same time when the big streamer streams the same game you played
It’s easy to understand
If Twitch users get to choose between to watch between Ninja or casual Fornite Player, most people will still choose Ninja. Or maybe the second option is don’t watch Fornite at all and move to other streamers
The best part of streaming without competition from top streamers is, if you stream when the big streamer already stops streaming, you can get a leftover viewer from their stream.
Many viewers only watch a specific type of game. When the big streamer stopped streaming, they more like to give a chance to watch a streamer with few viewers that play the same game
How Long should the Stream last?
Besides the time you start streaming, you must also consider how long the stream will be. A longer duration of stream usually equals more viewers on your stream
So how many hours should the stream last? As much as possible. If you can, you should stream at least 3 hours every day
Streaming for a longer time can make it easier to get noticed by many viewers. It’s normal for the big streamer to stream more than 6 hours every day
Don’t forget on how long your viewer will watch the stream on Twitch
According to restream, most people watch 16 hours long videos every week. Divided by each day, theoretically, each viewer watch stream around 2.5 hours on Twitch every day
At this time period, it’s common for the viewer to change the channel they watch because they are bored. So if your stream is long enough, you can gain many potential viewers during your stream
Of course, not all streamers can treat streaming as their job. So, if you can only stream for less than 2 hours, then it’s okay
Conclusion
Just like I have explained above, try to stream at off-hours or at night. If it not possible, then choose a game that watched by many loyal fans but only a few channels stream them
Stream at a longer duration instead of streaming shortly. It will help you to get all the viewers you can get at your current streaming skill.
A game that has many loyal fans and speeds runner like Mario and SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle of Bikini Bottom is easier to grind than a mainstream game like Minecraft and LoL
Don’t forget that you need to be consistently streaming at the same time.
Breaking up your stream into multiple streams can also be a strategy if you can’t stream for a longer period. Beware that not all your followers will watch your stream if you stream multiple times a day. There is a reason why most streamers only stream once a day